


The Sapphire House with A Moss-Covered Grove

by Farbautidottir



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Love, Malfoy Family Feels (Harry Potter), Malfoy Family-centric (Harry Potter), Malfoy Manor, Marriage, Miscarriage, POV Narcissa Black Malfoy, Traditions, legacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:20:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26297071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farbautidottir/pseuds/Farbautidottir
Summary: Home may be where the heart is, but Narcissa and Lucius learn it must be built together to withstand the strongest winds.
Relationships: Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy
Kudos: 19





	The Sapphire House with A Moss-Covered Grove

* * *

_There is a house built out of stone_

_Wooden floors, walls and window sills_

_Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust_

_This is a place where I don't feel alone_

_This is a place where I feel at home_

* * *

The honeymoon had been bliss. They'd ventured to India, staying in an old residence the Malfoys owned from another life. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries the Malfoys had dealt in gemstones, India being a hot bed. But their time there hadn't centered around gems or business or family obligations. In fact, the sheer distance and isolation from their families provided both Lucius and Narcissa the freedom to truly be themselves. And as it turned out, they were an embodiment of joy. They'd abandoned all decorum and danced every night around the house and its gardens, shining in the moonlight with sweat and endorphins. They were young and alive, only eighteen and twenty-one, ready to take on a world they didn't yet understand. Narcissa clung to this energy, certain it'd be gone the moment they returned to England.

On some accounts she was right. Their nightly dinners with his parents in the manor they all now shared were formal and restrained, everyone behaving as they ought to by societal rules. Narcissa had been raised to handle this, to thrive in societal constructs. But in the west wing of Malfoy Manor—their wing—Lucius encouraged them to behave as themselves. He lifted all restrictions. Narcissa had never known happiness like this. The Blacks did not raise their daughters to be free and embrace whoever they were. In fact, they cut those who did so from the family, like Narcissa's sister, Andromeda.

Lucius, however, forced her into no restraints like those she grew up in. This was what made them a perfect match. He understood her and she him. While many pureblood families arranged lucrative marriages, theirs was one born from love.

Two months into their marriage, Lucius held out his hand to her, his grey eyes bright with excitement.

"I have a gift for you, darling."

Narcissa took his hand with a grin. "Lead the way, my love."

He took her to a hidden door, revealing it with a spell and password. They entered a large vault full of neatly organized jewels, gold, and ancient artefacts.

"This is the Malfoy family vault," he explained. "We don't trust Gringotts with all of our wealth."

"It's marvelous." Narcissa walked farther ahead, taking in the splendor.

"Yes, centuries of accumulation. But since we had such a fun time in India, I thought I could give you the fruit of my family's labors there. Nearly all of our sapphire comes from India, so I am giving them to you to do whatever you'd like with them."

"You're serious?" Narcissa spun to face him, her brows raised in surprise. She'd expected an offer to borrow the jewelry whenever she fancied for events or important outings, not for him to give her all of the family's sapphires.

"Of course," Lucius replied.

He motioned her to a drawer. They both peered in as he opened it, their faces dazzled by the gleaming blue of sapphires inside. There were hundreds.

"Oh, Lucius, this is simply fantastic! But I already know what I'll do with them."

"Already?" Lucius laughed.

"Yes, I will hide on in plain sight in each room of the manor so there always will be a beautiful mystery throughout our daily lives."

"This is a phenomenal idea!"

Narcissa smirked warmly. "You think so?"

"Certainly yes," Lucius said, taking hold of her. "I will think of you any time I see a sapphire. They are just like your eyes in both color and depth."

"Well then, I'm glad my idea will bring you such ongoing joy." Narcissa smiled.

"You truly are tremendous, Narcissa. I'm the luckiest man to have married you."

"You flatter me."

"You're my wife. I need not flatter you."

"Yet you do," Narcissa murmured.

Lucius moved closer to her, running a lock of her blond hair through his fingers. "Indeed, I do."

They lost themselves in a long series of kisses, the plethora of gemstones reflecting their passion in endless tiny prisms of light.

Over the course of the next weeks, Narcissa hid the sapphires all over the manor. She explored every room, no matter what state of disuse it was in, dust wearing the furniture in some cases. Even with it being so big, Narcissa felt more at home than she ever had in Black Manor.

* * *

_Out in the garden where we planted the seeds_

_There is a tree as old as me_

_Branches were sewn by the color of green_

_Ground had arose and passed its knees_

* * *

The first year of marriage had been bliss. By the time their anniversary rolled around, Lucius still had not located all the sapphires in the manor. A week later, the mild summer weather encouraged them to go for a walk in the grounds. Lucius led them to a moss-covered grove. The tree trunks a vivid moss green even in the shade of their leaves.

"What is this place? I don't think I've ever come here," Narcissa said as they entered the grove.

"It is our family grove," Lucius explained. "Each tree was planted the day a Malfoy learned she was pregnant."

"How marvelous a concept. A growing dynasty." Narcissa ran her fingers lightly over the dry moss on one of the trunks.

"Yes, I always found it a beautiful idea myself. This tree is mine." Lucius pointed to the newest tree, which was still well established, but nothing compared to the centuries of trees beyond it.

"Let's explore deeper into the grove."

He agreed and led her into its depths, the trees taller and stronger as they went. The moss blanketed the ground and all the exposed roots, forming a quilt sewn by the color of green.

"It feels alive with magic!" Narcissa whispered excitedly.

Lucius pulled her close, looking into the depths of her sapphire eyes. "It is. The grove is full of the ancient magic of love."

They became lost in each other and Lucius conjured a mattress for them right there in the grove as their passion blossomed into a beautiful flower.

Six weeks later, Narcissa's period was late. She waited before performing the spell to check for pregnancy, wanting to be certain before she cast it. The spell showed a positive result. She determined to surprise Lucius with the news over dinner, but he noticed her elated state and remarked on it.

"What's gotten you so happy, darling?" he asked.

"I wished to make it a grander moment, but I suppose we have some time to build up to the true arrival of the news," Narcissa replied.

"You are not making sense."

"I'm pregnant."

Tears formed in her husband's eyes. "This is wonderful news," he whispered.

Narcissa melted into his embrace, their happiness contagious and tangible.

The next day he surprised her with a sapling.

"Let's plant the start of our family trees," he said, his eyes bright with excitement.

Narcissa followed him out to the grove, and they used magic to dig up the earth and plant the seedling of their future into the ground. Moss green surrounded them, an assurance of new life and beginnings, and they embraced each other tightly as they looked upon the freshly planted sapling with hope.

But life was not so easy.

Two weeks later, Narcissa awoke to wet sheets stained red. Words were not exchanged between her and Lucius. The entire set of bedding was removed by the House Elves and a new set replaced it before noon that day.

"You hadn't told your parents yet, right?" Narcissa asked that night as they lay on their new bedding.

"Not yet, no," Lucius replied.

"Your mother cannot ever know. She will think me unfit."

Lucius said nothing, but his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her body close to his. He held her tightly, as if she might wither away if he didn't grasp on with full strength. Narcissa felt so insignificant that his grip was hardly noticeable. Her body couldn't even do the one thing it was meant to. She was broken. Unsuitable for the Malfoy family.

Months passed until Narcissa was ready to try again. Another positive. Another sapling planted. Another horrible moment of realization that their baby was again lost.

The cycle continued for years. Lucius' parents becoming more and more anxious about their lack of grandchild. Their lack of a continuing heir. But Lucius' love for her was true. He protected her from them, wrapping around her like a layer of moss on tree bark. Cushioning whatever blows they threw her way.

Then, in October of 1979, when the Dark Lord was in such a place of power that Narcissa and Lucius knew they were too entrapped with his plans to ever truly be free, their efforts finally stuck. Nine months later, they gave birth to the light of their life, naming him Draco. He shone as brightly as the constellation and was as strong as a dragon to make it into the world after all of his siblings did not.

After Draco entered their lives, two more saplings were planted before the Dark Lord disappeared on Halloween 1981 and they were suddenly free of expectations and obligations. As Narcissa held tightly to their sleeping one-year-old son the next day, they decided that he was enough. Their family was complete.

* * *

_By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top_

_I climbed the tree to see the world_

_When the gusts came around to blow me down_

_I held on as tightly as you held onto me_

* * *

The last moments before Lucius was carted to Azkaban had been a subtle bliss. The Dark Lord could not touch him in the prison. He would be safe and that was all that mattered to Narcissa. When the Dark Lord rose again just over a year ago, all the horrible moments of the decade before Draco's birth resurfaced. She'd felt out of control again. As though her family and her home were no longer her own. With Lucius' parents already having passed away, he was the Dark Lord's main focal point.

She sought solace that afternoon on the stone bench in the moss-covered grove of the Malfoy estate and recounted those fleeting final moments together with her love. His eyes had been full of fear, their greys a tumultuous storm of despair. She'd taken his hands into hers, the magical bindings around his wrists a heavy reminder of what was about to happen. He'd squeezed her tightly, and she'd pressed the small sapphire she'd brought with her into his palm.

"Keep my eyes in your thoughts and you will not go astray there," she whispered to him.

The gemstone was hard between their skin. Lucius blinked away a tear as he understood what she'd given him. For one minute longer, she'd held on as tightly as he'd held onto her. Then the Aurors forced him upright and Disapparted him away. A Ministry official guided her out, back to the Floo Hall, and she'd gone home.

"We'll get him back soon. The Dark Lord is certain of it," her eldest sister, Bellatrix, assured her the second she landed back at Malfoy Manor.

"I will be outside. I need to be alone right now," Narcissa said simply. She did not show her sister her true feelings. Her sister could not be trusted about such things, for she was too far embedded in the Dark Lord's cause.

"As you wish, Cissy." Bellatrix nodded with understanding. At least some of their sisterly bond remained.

The hours ticked away, the sun slipping across the sky until the moss green seemed to glow on the trees surrounding her. A crackling of leaves and soft clearing of the throat caused her to snap out of her myriad of thoughts.

"Draco!" She smiled warmly at her sixteen-year-old son.

"Mother, may I join you? Aunt Bellatrix said you wanted to be alone." His voice wavered and he took a deep breath before murmuring, "Somehow, I thought that might not be true."

"You were right." Narcissa patted the space beside her. "Sit, dear."

Draco did as he was told and then asked, "Do you think we will get through this unscathed?"

"Is that what you worry about?" she asked.

Draco nodded. "Father always said that reputation was more powerful than money. That people's fear of you is the greater currency."

Narcissa nodded thoughtfully and patted Draco's thigh.

"He isn't wrong. Though perhaps he did not impart the full lesson on you. Tell me, have you ever been out here?" she asked him.

"To the family grove? Only a few times. I prefer the orchard for walks."

"Do you know what this grove is?" she asked.

He glanced at her with confusion, as if she might be asking a trick question. Narcissa laughed gently.

"I will take that as a no. Your father brought me here early in our marriage. Each tree represents a Malfoy life. Some of the trees are hundreds of years old. That one there is yours." She pointed to the young tree nearby the bench.

"There are so many of similar age to mine. Did you plant multiples for me?" he asked.

"No, those are your siblings who never were born. Your father insisted each one get a tree. At first, I thought it was just to be kind to me, but in time I saw that he wanted to build a deep set of roots. So that if a strong gust of wind came, we would withstand it. He knew that Malfoys value family above all else. We protect our own. That is what this grove represents."

"A living legacy." Draco's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Draco, dear, listen to me." She took her son's hands into her own. Their eyes met and it was clear Draco paid her full attention.

"I know the coming year will be difficult. But we will prevail. Your father and I have built you a home that is as hard and beautiful as sapphires. It is sturdy enough to withstand most things. But should we fall, this moss-covered grove will cushion our landing. Our living legacy, as you said, will always be here for us to give us strength even when all hope seems lost. Do you understand, dear?"

Draco grasped on tightly to her hands, resolve forming in his blue-grey eyes, their color a mixture of Lucius' storm grey and her sapphire blue. "I understand, Mother."

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics in italics are from "To Build A Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra


End file.
